David Hockney: A Bigger Picture
Category: Books,Arts & Photography
David Hockney: A Bigger Picture Details
Limited Edition. Royal Academy of Arts Exhibition Edition.David Hockney, one of the world’s greatest living artists, is creating some of the most significant work of his long career, painting the landscape and changing seasons of his native Yorkshire. These large, colorful works are the capstone of his engagement with nature, not only in England but also in the American Southwest, through the media of painting and photography. This book, the catalog of the first major Hockney museum exhibition in many years, offers a glorious view of the landscape as seen by the artist, and it includes not only his recent paintings but also his iPhone and iPad drawings. Essays by leading art historians—as well as a more literary piece by novelist Margaret Drabble and Hockney’s own reflections on his recent work—explore Hockney’s art from various perspectives.Praise for David Hockney:"Supplemented with numerous essays by art critics and Hockney himself, this is a mesmerizing volume of an established artist who continues to assert his dynamic relevancy." —Publishers Weekly (starred review) "This glorious volume showcases this unique and exhilarating body of work, which celebrates the pulse of life in trees, fields, flowers, and clouds over the great cycle of the seasons . . . The enlightening commentary is merely prelude to a swoon once the reader turns to the 300 resplendent color reproductions." —Booklist, starred review.Editorial ReviewsAbout the AuthorMarco Livingstone is an art historian and independent curator and the author of numerous books about postwar art. Margaret Drabble is an English novelist, biographer, and critic. Tim Barringer is the Paul Mellon Professor of the History of Art at Yale University. Xavier Salomon is the curator of Southern Baroque paintings at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Martin Gayford is a writer focusing on art and jazz. Read more
Reviews
I saw Mr. Hockney's exhibit in London, and I must have this book. This is not a proper book review, as I have ordered but not yet received it, but I can only hope that the book captures the delight I experienced at seeing his work in this exhibit. If it only capture a tiny fraction of what I remember, it is worth every penny.We planned a vacation in London in large part to see this exhibit and the Lucian Freud exhibit that was showing at the same time. I was expecting to be disappointed - after all, with the expense of a trip to London for a vacation, the bar is set rather high to see something spectacular. It was nothing like I expected. I thought I would miss the boys in the swimming pools, but I quickly forgot everything I thought I knew about this artist.I have never seen such a well organized yet intimate exhibit - David is clearly not bashful. The paintings, large and small, drew me in, and refreshed my view of the wonder in nature. I was a small boy seeing his first tadpole. He even showed his practice paintings, as I call them - works that reflected his journey rather than the destination (I hope the journey continues for some time - David, take your vitamins).I think simple is very hard - and what David showed is, at its heart, simple. His focus, joy, and delight at transforming (take no offense) bleary English landscapes into beauty to behold was a wonder. I saw what he saw.Perhaps I am not a sophisticated arts critic, but I love color - orange, blue, and purple, bring it on. His painting spoke to us in a language seldom heard. Yes, it was crowded with people, children, and dogs (well, no dogs). That is what most museums are like, but the exhibit was so well managed and fit for the space that we did not care. I wish I could remodel my house to make it fit his paintings in the same way David made his paintings fit this space.Five stars, or six if they would let me.